I love this one. Maybe it's one of those "personal resonance" things; I've never been to a class reunion. I also like that the author makes it look easy. There's something to be said for a simple form done well.

I love it too. I don't know why I didn't vote for it except I do know why I voted for the ones I did. Sometimes affinity has more to do with poetry than admiration.

After starting so promisingly, this one really felt like a let-down at the end , with the collapse into stark, cliched drama. I kept looking back at lines that might've been turned this way or that to produce any number of subtler effects, but those are other poems. this one says what it wants to.

Thanks for the many positive thoughts in this thread, especially from John Whitworth (who also gets my special thanks for his appreciation and choice of this one for honors by "Dictatorial Fiat"!), Janet, Mary, and Rose, and additional thanks to all.

A sense of humor is a personal thing, and not everyone will see the humor in a particular subject or treatment, of course. That's even more obvious after seeing the variety of responses to each of the 13 finalist poems. Not everyone is willing to "suspend their disbelief" for each piece posted, or for every work of art they see or read.

As mentioned in the Wrap-Up thread, this was first published in Interlude, UK. I've had about ten light and/or satirical poems published in UK journals. Most don't readily fit the category "light," and I'm still looking for the right term.

I have a friend who says her apartment is Number 2N, and "'N' is for Nasty." Nasty Light Verse? No, there really isn't an appropriate term. How about three categories: "Light and Frothy," "Light and Trivial," and "Satire"? I'm partial to the first and the third categories, but the second usually leaves me cold. There can be overlap between categories, as in Lewis Carroll. There's also a huge difference imo between humor that sounds incredibly dumb [not usually funny to me, even though onscreen or onstage a physical ("broad") humor, when well done, is hilarious] and humor that is not dumb, ie sharp, witty, intelligent.

The kind of comedians who put themselves down for laughs can be hilarious, as can those who do wit and insult, like Rickles and Jon Stewart. If there's no keen observation, though, any attempt can come off as sad.

Most of these are not comments on my poem but theories I worked out long ago. Naturally they won't suit everyone!